A True Ending
by XPERT
Summary: A story about how Shadow survived the fall from the ARK and how he searches the world for answers to his questions. NOTE If you haven't beaten the story modes on Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, you may not understand some of this (Now COMPLETE! Please R&R!)
1. The Story Goes On

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic or other characters mentioned in this story. They are copyright of other companies. Besides, I have no money that you could sue me for anyway.  
  
Review this if you want. I am not making you review it, but please read it! I put my soul into it!  
  
  
  
  
  
As I fell from the sky, I questioned myself. Did I really have to do this? Why do I feel like I have to leave Sonic and the others? And more importantly, why do I even regret leaving Sonic? After all our rivalry and battles.  
  
I fell. I heard Maria's voice inside my head. But was I really planning on dying? Hell no! My life has barely started, and I was finally getting things back together. Die? That was for weaklings who have no life left to live. I had my whole future ahead of me.  
  
"Chaos Control!" I yelled as I clutched the fake emerald that Sonic had dropped in his haste to battle me. "Will this fake emerald have enough power to get me out of here?" I wondered. Suddenly, I was at the top of Radical Highway, looking down at all the cars and people below. Obviously they completed the construction. "Maybe I should take my race car out here for a ride later." I said to myself.  
  
I looked upward at the sky. I searched and finally found the space colony ARK, where I had defeated the ultimate life form with Sonic's help. Who was I? If I had defeated the ultimate life form, does that mean that I am stronger than the ultimate life form, hence making me the ultimate life form? Or is Sonic the one who deserves the credit? But still, since we defeated the bio-lizard together, are we really identical? Which one of us is better? And how can we be so much alike? Surely it can't be coincidence. Something or somebody who played a part in my creation wanted me to be like Sonic. But why? I decided that the only way to find answers was to head back to Iron Gate and tap into it's internal computer within the inner chamber, where Eggman had originally freed me. "I'm sure we will meet again, Sonic," I said to the sky. And then I was off, grinding down the rail, rushing towards the answers to my questions. 


	2. The Realization

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic or other characters mentioned in this story. They are copyright of other companies. Besides, I have no money that you could sue me for anyway.  
  
  
  
"Hey, Sonic, what do you want to do today?" Tails asked as he sat down in a chair next to me. We were at my house, and it has been a week since we saved the world from the space colony, ARK. Every day Tails asked this question, and ever since a week ago all I ever do is sit and watch TV.  
  
"I don't know. How about we watch some TV." See? I have been feeling down, out of energy. I may have saved the world, but I did it with Shadow's help, and it pained me to see him fall from the sky when I survived. How could that have happened? I thought we were identical, heck, you could even say we were twins if it wasn't for his black color. All I know is that it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to Shadow that I survived and he didn't. I was in a slump you might say. A slump caused by the loss of a comrade.  
  
"But Sonic, we watched TV all day yesterday, and all day the day before that, too!" Tails complained.  
  
He was itching for an adventure again, I could tell. He probably had created some killer machines and can't wait to test them out. This next invention of his might even have a nuclear weapon for all I knew.  
  
"Alright Tails, we will only watch for an hour today," I bargained.  
  
"OK," said Tails. I popped us some microwave popcorn and we started watching Battlebots.  
  
"Ah, it's a rerun," Tails stated with a frown.  
  
"What, you've seen this one before?" I asked as I shoved a handful of popcorn into my mouth.  
  
"Yeah, this is the tournament where Eggman gets his butt whooped," Tails said with a laugh.  
  
On the screen showed Dr. Eggman controlling his Egg Walker from a distance with his remote controls. His opponent was:  
  
"A giant Omochao!?" I exclaimed as I burst out laughing. "He got beaten by a giant Omochao!?"  
  
"Yeah, this is great, take a look at what Omochao does," Tails said as he leaned forward in his seat.  
  
Omochao used its tiny propellers to somehow fly up above the Egg Walker, which was constantly firing missiles at Omochao, who didn't seem affected by any of the attacks. Suddenly, Omochao came crashing downward and  
  
"We interrupt this program for an important announcement," a woman said as she appeared on the screen.  
  
"Oh man! Not now!" I said as I groaned.  
  
"A week ago, the ultimate life form, AKA Shadow, escaped from the Iron Gate facility," the woman read from a paper.  
  
"Old news," I noted.  
  
"But just recently, Shadow has been spotted trying to bust his way back into the facility," the woman continued.  
  
I was shocked as a live camera view showed Shadow trying to bust his way into Iron Gate.  
  
"The public is warned to keep away from the facility and to make contact with Shadow as minimal as possible. The military has already taken the necessary precautions and has sent for the reinforcements which are now on the way," the woman stated. "More news on this at noon," she finished.  
  
The TV switched back to the battlebots match, which showed a heap of rubble where Eggman's machine once was.  
  
"Did you hear that Sonic? Shadow's alive!" Tails said as he jumped out of his chair.  
  
"I kind of figured that. Someone like him doesn't die very easily," I recalled.  
  
"Let's go to Iron Gate and see what we can do to help!" Tails said with eagerness.  
  
"I'm all for that. Let's go!" I yelled as I ran out the door.  
  
"Wait for me, Sonic!" Tails yelled as he climbed into his Tornado 2. 


	3. A Failed Experiment?

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic or other characters mentioned in this story. They are copyright of other companies. Besides, I have no money that you could sue me for anyway.  
  
"Shadow, its me, Sonic, come back!" Sonic said. "Chaos Emeralds, ultimate life forms, experiments. What DOES it all mean?" Shadow asked himself as he turned a corner. "Shadow!" Sonic yelled as he chased after him. "Chaos Control," Shadow whispered as he teleported over a large gap. Sonic quickly Light Attacked a row of enemies to get across the gap. "Sonic! Wait up!" Tails yelled as he hovered over the gap in his Tornado 2.  
  
They continued onward like this for some time, until they finally reached the inner chamber. "Now I can find the answers," Shadow said as he pushed a couple buttons on the keyboard.  
  
The computer screen showed a picture of Shadow's face with a title above it. It said project Sonic. Bottom of Form 0  
  
"Shadow! What are you doing? What is this?" Sonic asked. "And furthermore, how is it you're alive?"  
  
"Sonic, this is the truth," Shadow said as he pointed at the computer screen. Shadow read what was written there out loud.  
  
"Project Sonic was created as a test project, to test the cloning machine to see if it would work. It did. Project Sonic was almost identical to Sonic, except that the test project had its own unique personality and colors. Next up we had to program information into the clone's brain. Disaster struck us. Someone had accidentally swapped the programs that were meant to go into the ultimate life from project, Shadow, with the information that was supposed to go into project Sonic. Project Sonic from here on after called himself 'Shadow' and was very uncooperative in future experiments. We finally decided that it would be best to eliminate this failure as soon as possible before more chaos could strike, but Professor Gerald's granddaughter, Maria, was against the whole idea. She said that Shadow should deserve a chance, just like any one of us living now. We agreed that she was right, and she kept complete surveillance on it for the next forty-eight hours," Shadow finished.  
  
"What, that's it?" asked Sonic.  
  
"I'm afraid so, Sonic," Shadow answered. "The end of this document probably never got finished because of the 'accident'. Damn it, if only I would've been out of that capsule, I would've been able to save Maria."  
  
He walked towards a corner and hid his face from view. "After all this, I find out I'm nothing but a clone. Just a 'copy'of someone else."  
  
"Shadow, don't think that way," Sonic said as he placed a hand on Shadow's shoulder.  
  
"And why shouldn't I!? Maria is gone, and now I have just found out that I am a clone!? My whole life is going to hell!"  
  
"Calm down Shadow! Do you even know for sure that Maria is gone?" Tails asked.  
  
"Professor Gerald said he saw her name on the list of casualties after the accident," Shadow said.  
  
"But did you actually see her die?" Tails asked with a slight grin.  
  
"No," Shadow replied. "Are you trying to say that she might still be alive?"  
  
"You bet she might. We all know now that the accident was faked and that GUN robots were sent on board, cause a ruckus, and blame it on an accident that didn't happen. Now, what I am trying to say is that maybe the robots didn't kill anyone. Maybe they."  
  
"Took Maria and the other scientists prisoner and brought them off the space station!" Sonic finished for Tails.  
  
"Right! If she is still alive, I can find her," Tails said as he started typing on the keyboard.  
  
"Hurry Tails! The reinforcements should be back soon!" Sonic warned as he guarded the entrance. "By the way, Shadow, how did you get through those security doors?"  
  
Shadow pointed at a smoking rocket launcher leaning against the wall.  
  
"Something I borrowed from Eggman," Shadow said with a grin.  
  
"I see," Sonic said as he continued to watch the hallway. "Hurry up Tails!" he said.  
  
"Got it! She's being held at Prison Lane!" Tails said.  
  
"Ok! Lets go!" Sonic yelled as he raced down tbe corridor with Shadow right behind him.  
  
"Why do I always get left behind!?" Tails yelled grumpily as he tried to catch up.  
  
Suddenly they reached the gap that Sonic had Light Attacked across earlier.  
  
"How do we get across?" Sonic asked.  
  
"My Emerald is out of energy, though it lasted pretty long for being a fake," Shadow said as he threw the Emerald away.  
  
"Leave it to me guys! Hop on!" Tails yelled as he charged the Tornado 2's power.  
  
Tails quickly flew the three of them over the gap in the floor.  
  
"Thanks Tails, we owe you one," Sonic said as he raced on ahead.  
  
"Maria, I won't be long," Shadow said to himself as he hurried after Sonic.  
  
"Whoa!" Sonic shouted as he came to a stop.  
  
There must have been over fifty robots guarding the entrance. They all pointed their guns at Sonic and Shadow.  
  
"Freeze!" one of the gun robots ordered.  
  
"Ready!?" Sonic said to Shadow. Shadow caught the cue.  
  
"There's no time to play games," he said as he also powered up.  
  
The robots never knew what hit them. Sonic and Shadow both Light attacked at the same time and took out all fifty of them in less than three seconds.  
  
"Next time go for quality, and not quanity," Sonic taunted.  
  
BOOM!  
  
Sonic was knocked over from the impact and it took him a couple seconds to figure out what had hit him.  
  
"Eggman!" Sonic said as he got up.  
  
Eggman was in his Egg Walker and was preparing another attack.  
  
"Long time no see, Sonic. I figured I would see you here when I saw Shadow on TV. I rushed here as fast as I could, and hoped I could get a shot at getting rid of you once and for all!" Eggman laughed one of his evil laughs.  
  
"Leave him to me, Sonic!" Tails shouted as he moved his Tornado 2 forward.  
  
"Ah, Tails. I figured I would see you here, so I prepared a little present for you." Eggman shot out a ball of electric energy at Tails. "Here!"  
  
"Urgh!" Tails said when the blast hit him. "What the heck!? My controls aren't working!" He yelled in a panic. His machine was firing missles and bullets all over the place, including at Sonic and Shadow. They had no trouble dodging the attacks, but they now had Eggman to deal with.  
  
"Sonic! I am going to have to cut the power! It will be up to you!" Tails exclaimed as he turned off his machine.  
  
"You got it Tails!" Sonic said as he faced Eggman.  
  
"Don't count me out!" Shadow said as he joined Sonic.  
  
Eggman started laughing one of his evil laughs again. Then he pushed a button on his machine, and a huge, bubble-like capsule surrounded Sonic and Shadow!  
  
"What the.? Not again!" Sonic said in disgust. "I fell for the same trick twice!"  
  
"You're right, Sonic, and there is nothing you can do now! Fire rocket launcher!" Eggman said as he pushed a button on his Egg Walker. Nothing happened. He pushed it again. Nothing happened.  
  
"What's wrong, Eggman, is your rocket launcher gone?" Shadow asked with a smile.  
  
Eggman looks on the back of his machine to find his rocket launcher missing.  
  
"Shadow, you will pay for that. I still have my power laser!" Eggman said as a huge cannon opened in the front of the machine.  
  
"Oh shit," Shadow said as he pressed against the back of the capsule. Eggman pushed a button. Nothing happened. Eggman pushed it again. Nothing happened.  
  
"What the heck is going on!?" Eggman shouted as he looked at his mal- functioning laser.  
  
"Are you missing this, Doctor?" a familiar voice asked.  
  
Suddenly, Rouge walked out from behind the other side of the building holding a Chaos Emerald.  
  
"My emerald! You cunning little thief! You know I need that emerald to fire my power laser!" Eggman said as he trapped Rouge in another capsule. "Now I will take your life, as well as the Chaos Emerald!"  
  
"Not if I can help it," Knuckles said as he out from around the other side of the building.  
  
"Well, isn't this turning into a party," Eggman said as he trapped Knuckles also.  
  
"You should know something if you have an I. Q. of 300, Eggman," Knuckles said from inside his capsule.  
  
"Oh, and what is that?" Eggman asked Knuckles.  
  
"That I wouldn't have gotten caught if I didn't want to get caught. I have rings," Knuckles said.  
  
"Oh no," Eggman said as he backed up.  
  
"You guessed it," Knuckles said. "Take this!"  
  
A thunder arrow came from the sky and struck Eggman's Egg Walker, shocking Dr. Eggman inside and nuking the controls.  
  
"NO!!!" Eggman yelled as his Walker spun out of control, shooting everyone out of their capsules.  
  
"Turn your power off, Eggman!" Tails warned from the still-smoking body of his own machine.  
  
"Never!" Eggman shouted. Suddenly, his Walker exploded, sending debris all over the place. However, just before the explosion, Eggman had pushed the eject button and was shot upwards into the sky in his Mini-Speeder.  
  
"The next time I see you, you're dead," he warned as he sped off.  
  
"How's everyone doing?" Sonic asked.  
  
"I'm fine," Shadow said.  
  
"My walker is busted!" Tails complained.  
  
"Just peachy," Rouge replied.  
  
"Never felt better!" Knuckles said as he practiced a few punches.  
  
"Let me guess, you two saw the news on TV and came here to check it out?" Sonic asked Knuckles and Rouge.  
  
"Right," they both said.  
  
"Well, now that we are back together, let's form a plan," Tails said as he got out a pad of paper. 


	4. Tails' Big Plan

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic or other characters mentioned in this story. They are copyright of other companies. Besides, I have no money that you could sue me for anyway.  
  
  
  
"That will never work! What are you thinking?"  
  
"At least I'm trying to make a plan, unlike you!"  
  
"What about my plan?"  
  
"Let's not even get started with yours. Let's finish talking about mine."  
  
"We ARE finished with yours, we all agreed that it wouldn't work."  
  
"No, you're the only one who didn't seem to like it."  
  
"Guys, can't we settle this without arguing?" Tails asked the group.  
  
But nobody listened to him.  
  
"It stinks anyway! You'll get caught before you even get inside the building."  
  
"Will not!"  
  
"Guys," Tails said, trying to get their attention.  
  
"Will too!"  
  
"Will not!  
  
"WILL TOO!"  
  
"QUIET!" Tails yelled.  
  
Tails looked at the pad of paper, which was full of scribbles and incomplete drawings of plans they had all been discussing. Tails sighed and tore the piece of paper off the pad, crumpled it up, and threw it into a pile that was forming behind him.  
  
"I have a plan, but we will have to head back to my workshop if we ever want to actually go through with it," Tails suggested.  
  
"So, what's your plan?" Sonic asked his pal.  
  
"I'll explain it as soon as we are at my house," Tails said as he took out his set of tools.  
  
"What do you need them for?" Knuckles asked.  
  
"Well, if we are heading to my house, do you guys feel like walking? I am going to fix my Tornado 2," Tails replied as he took off the control panel. "Don't worry, it should only take a couple of minutes."  
  
Fifteen minutes later the group arrived at Tail's house.  
  
"Not a bad place," Knuckles said with awe as he looked at the building.  
  
"Yeah, Sonic helped me build it," Tails replied.  
  
The house looked like it was completely made of metal. On top of that, the metal had been painted a shiny golden color that reflected the sun's light. The whole thing looked like a giant royal vault.  
  
"Come on in," Tails invited as he held open the door.  
  
The interior of his house wasn't too shabby, either. The carpet was a dark shade of green and the walls were tan.  
  
"Follow me," Tails said as he led them into the back room of his house.  
  
However, unlike the outside and the inside of the house, Tail's workshop was not very neat. Mechanical gears, tools, wires, and grease littered the floor.  
  
"Sorry, I haven't cleaned up in here lately," Tails admitted. "This way."  
  
He led them over to a table where they all sat down at.  
  
"Now," Tails said, "here is the plan." He took out a sheet a paper from his pad and began drawing. "This," he pointed out, "is the entrance. There are about ten GUN machines there. They have impenetrable armor and can probably nuke a tank in one shot. This is where you come in Sonic."  
  
"Me? Why me?" Sonic asked as he gulped.  
  
"You're the only one other than Shadow that is fast enough to dodge the lasers, and I have another job in store for him," Tails answered.  
  
"Well, alright, I guess I'll do it," Sonic said with a nod.  
  
"Great. So, the first part of the plan starts with Sonic running around distracting the guards," Tails explained as he got up and started pacing. "The second part involves Shadow."  
  
"What do I need to do?" Shadow asked.  
  
"There's a security building next to the Prison. I need you to go inside, take out the guard robots, and locate where Maria is at. Once you accomplish that, I need you to be my navigator and tell me which way to go once I get into the base. We will keep in contact with these," Tails said as he pulled out some communicators. "That's pretty much it," Tails said as he handed out the comms.  
  
"Wait! What do we do?" Rouge asked for herself and Knuckles.  
  
"You two will be flying above keeping a lookout for any reinforcements that might come," Tails replied. "Does everyone get it?"  
  
Everyone nodded and walked out the door.  
  
"That was a great plan, Tails," Sonic said once we were outside.  
  
"Thanks Sonic. I'm sorry that I had to give you the most dangerous part," Tails replied.  
  
"What are you talking about? You know how much I love challenges," Sonic said with a grin.  
  
"Yes, I do," Tails answered, returning the grin. He then turned the power on in his Tornado 2.  
  
"All aboard!" Tails shouted. "And hang on!" He then shot forward and took off towards the horizon. 


	5. The Infiltration of Prison Lane

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic or other characters mentioned in this story. They are copyright of other companies. Besides, I have no money that you could sue me for anyway.  
  
~~~~~TAILS  
  
"Everyone ready?" I asked into my comm.  
  
"I'm set!" said Sonic's voice.  
  
"Rouge and I are in position," Knuckles said.  
  
"I'm standing by," Shadow said.  
  
"Alright Sonic, go for it!" I encouraged. I watched as he ran up to the front gate, tapped one of the robots on the shoulder, and ran off in the other direction.  
  
"WARNING! Intruder located on premises. All available units are requested to engage. Destroy the intruder!" A loud message system said.  
  
"This is working better than I thought," I said out loud as I watched all ten robots chase after Sonic.  
  
"Now Shadow!" I ordered.  
  
~~~~~SHADOW  
  
I ran around to the front of the security building and quickly smashed the two robots that were guarding the entrance. I ran inside to find three more robots working the controls. I smashed two, but the third one held its laser up to my head.  
  
"Freeze!" it commanded.  
  
I quickly did a flip backwards, dodged the laser-fire, and grabbed two packages of twenty rings I had noticed when I came in. I pointed at the robot.  
  
"Chaos Spear!" I yelled as a bunch of golden projectiles slammed into the robot, breaking it into a thousand pieces.  
  
"Shadow! How are you doing in there?" Tails' voice asked from my comm.  
  
"I just finished up. I'm searching for Maria now," I said as I walked over to the computer screens.  
  
I looked at the screens and couldn't help but shout at the sight of Maria on one of the monitors.  
  
"I found her, Tails. She is held in cell C-130, according to this prison record.  
  
"Great job Shadow, I will see what I can do," Tails said.  
  
~~~~~TAILS  
  
I ran up to the entrance to Prison Lane and was struck dumbfounded. The door must've been modified since my last visit, because the door now needed a security card to open!  
  
"I've run into a small problem," I said into my comm. "The door needs a security card to be opened!"  
  
"Leave it to me," Rouge replied.  
  
~~~~~ROUGE  
  
I slipped on my Treasure Scope to search the area. I also programmed my radar to detect any security card nearby.  
  
"There may be one in that warehouse over there," Knuckles said as he pointed towards a large building on the other side of the prison.  
  
I headed towards the warehouse. Sure enough, as soon as I was close to the warehouse my radar began to blink.  
  
I entered the warehouse and the blinking got faster. It was definitely in here. I looked around. The whole room was filled with crates! I groaned and started breaking them open, one by one. After about five minutes I had busted them all open and had not seen any sign of a security card. I walked to the center of the room and the blinking was going as fast as it could go. I looked around and noticed a table nearby. I walked over to it and the radar began to shake like mad. I looked on the table and found a briefcase. Inside the briefcase was the security card. Feeling kind of foolish, I rushed the card back to Tails as fast as I could.  
  
~~~~~TAILS  
  
"Thanks, Rouge!" I said as I took the card from her and put it into its slot next to the door.  
  
The door slid open quickly and I walked in.  
  
"Shadow? You there?" I asked into my comm.  
  
"Right with you," Shadow's voice replied. "Go forward until you can turn right. That'll take you to the C block."  
  
I blasted through a few weak robots and crates that blocked my way, but I had no major troubles. I followed Shadow's directions and I headed right. After walking for a while, I came upon the cells. Most of them were empty, and I read the numbers as I walked by.  
  
"C-58, 62, 66, 70," I started.  
  
"Just hurry and find 140!" Shadow's voice said anxiously.  
  
I fired my boosters and went as fast as I could down the corridor. Near the end I stopped. The wall read C-250.  
  
"You moron! Go back the other way!" Shadow yelled.  
  
I rushed back the other way and stopped about half way through the corridor.  
  
"130, 134, 138," I continued. I looked at the other wall. "140!" I yelled as I headed over to the cell.  
  
Inside the cell was an old woman. Her wrinkled skin made her look like she was ancient, and her blue eyes showed of pain and suffering.  
  
"Shadow, are you sure this is the right cell?" I asked.  
  
"Positive," Shadow said. "Is there a problem?"  
  
Finally remembering what happened, I hit myself.  
  
"Shadow, the accident happened fifty years ago," I said to Shadow.  
  
"Yeah? So what?" he asked.  
  
"Well," I replied, "Maria looks like she is sixty years old."  
  
~~~~~SONIC  
  
I ran and ran and ran. The robots were close behind me and fired lasers at me constantly. And all I could do was run in circles around the prison. Not my idea of a picnic.  
  
"WHAT!!!???" Shadow's voice yelled.  
  
"Hey, guys, you almost through?" I asked into my comm. "I'm starting to get tired," I stated as I ducked another laser.  
  
"Only a few more minutes Sonic. I am releasing her now," Tails said.  
  
I ran faster as a laser beam blew up the spot where I just was.  
  
"I hope he moves fast," I said to myself as I continued to circle the building.  
  
~~~~~TAILS  
  
I released the Maria and headed as fast as I could to the entrance.  
  
"Incoming enemies! There's about thirty of em heading our way!" Knuckles said.  
  
"Shadow, Knuckles, Rouge, work together to fight them off!" I said into my comm.  
  
"That won't be necessary," Shadow said into his comm.  
  
~~~~~SHADOW  
  
I rushed outside and charged my Light Attack. I ran towards the robots and released my energy. I flew about as fast as a bullet, destroying all the robots in my path. In no time, they were all destroyed.  
  
"That wasn't too hard," I said to myself.  
  
~~~~~TAILS  
  
"Great job Shadow! Alright, everyone into the Tornado 2!" I said into my comm..  
  
Shadow, Rouge, and Knuckles joined me and Maria in the Tornado 2.  
  
"Everyone ready?" I asked as I cranked up the power on my controls.  
  
"Yeah! Let's go!" Sonic yelled as he jumped into the Tornado 2, barely dodging another laser.  
  
I fired the turbo boosters on my Tornado 2 and we were outta there! 


	6. The Rejuvenator

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic or other characters mentioned in this story. They are copyright of other companies. Besides, I have no money that you could sue me for anyway.  
  
"YOU'RE Maria?" Knuckles asked. "The way Shadow talked, here I was expecting some hot chick."  
  
"You're asking for it, Knuckles," Shadow said with an icy-cold look in his eye.  
  
"Let's not start anything right now, OK?" Tails stated.  
  
"Ahh, you're not worth it anyway," Shadow said as he looked away from Knuckles. Poor Knuckles was torn between telling Shadow to take it back or to just keep his own mouth shut.  
  
They were all back at Tail's workshop, talking about Maria. As if Shadow didn't do enough of that by himself.  
  
"Guys, Shadow was incubated and put to sleep for fifty years. His aging process was halted. Maria wasn't like this the last time he saw her, so we should all give him a break," Tails said.  
  
"It's such a joy to see you again, Shadow. I thought I never would again," Maria said to Shadow.  
  
"Neither did I," Shadow replied. "But I surely didn't expect you to be like this!"  
  
"What do you expect, when you keep me waiting for fifty years!?" Maria accused. For being over sixty years old, she still had a lot of pep in her.  
  
"Guys," Tails said. He looked uncomfortable when everyone stared at him, but, he had to get his next point across. "I think I can get the young Maria back."  
  
"WHAT!?" Shadow yelled as he looked at Tails.  
  
"Well, I haven't really tested it on people yet, but I have a machine that might take the fifty years of age off of Maria. It's called the Rejuvenator," he said.  
  
Everyone stared at him dumbfounded. "Let's get it fired up!" Shadow shouted.  
  
"It's not that easy," Tails said. "We need to get some things first."  
  
"What do we need?" Sonic asked.  
  
"Well, lets see here," Tails said as he pulled out one of his notebooks from a drawer behind him.  
  
"What's that?" Rouge asked as she pointed at the notebook.  
  
"What? This?" Tails replied. "It's a notebook Eggman left behind on the ARK. I picked it up before I left."  
  
After flipping through the pages, he finally found what he was looking for. "Ok, we need something personal of Maria's, a energy crystal, and the Master Emerald," Tails said.  
  
"I'll go with Maria to her old home. We are sure to find something there," Shadow said.  
  
"Alright, I'll take care of the energy crystal," Rouge said. "Whatever that is."  
  
"There is only one energy crystal in the world," Tails explained. "And right now it's in the possession of Dr. Eggman. He uses it to power his base."  
  
"In that case, I'll go with you," Sonic said to Rouge. "I'll take care of Eggman while you get the crystal."  
  
"I guess I will go get the Master Emerald," Knuckles said. "I have to check up on how Tikal is doing anyway."  
  
"Then it's settled! I will stay here and start working on the machine. I haven't used it in awhile," Tails said.  
  
"Hey, Tails, could I borrow your Tornado 2?" Shadow asked as he pointed at Maria.  
  
"Sure," Tails said as he walked over to his machine. "The controls are labeled."  
  
"Thanks!" Shadow said as he looked at Maria. "I was afraid that I would have to carry you!"  
  
Meanwhile,  
  
"Muwhahahah! My plan worked! Shadow thinks he is a clone, and nobody noticed the mistake I made!" Eggman said to himself as he watched a TV set which showed Prison Lane. "This may work yet!" He looked some more at the TV set. Eggman pushed a button on his desk. "Double security in the Power Room!" he yelled over the intercom. Eggman leaned back in his chair. "Let's see if they take the bait." 


	7. The Scavenger Hunt

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic or other characters mentioned in this story. They are copyright of other companies. Besides, I have no money that you could sue me for anyway.  
  
  
  
~~~~~SHADOW  
  
I raced along the plains with Tail's Tornado 2. The wind blew against my face as I flew past trees and hills. I had to hand it to Tails; this machine was pretty nice. I looked down at the controls. I noticed a TURBO button. Was this the button that Tails used when we escaped from Prison Lane?  
  
"Maria, how far is it to your house?" I asked.  
  
"Oh, it's on an island in the ocean," she said.  
  
"Hang on!" I told Maria as I pushed the TURBO button.  
  
"Shadow! Slow down!!" Maria yelled as we flew forward.  
  
Colors were just blurs as we continued over the ocean.  
  
I looked for the brakes. I finally found them and slowed down to normal speed. Maria's house was outlined on the horizon.  
  
"That's the place!" Maria shouted.  
  
I landed the Tornado 2 just outside of Maria's house. She got out quickly and quickly headed inside. I was right behind her.  
  
"Man, this place looks like it hasn't been used in years," I said to myself.  
  
Dust covered the floor, and spiderwebs hung in every corner. The floor made a creaking sound as I walked, and the whole place gave me a chill up my spine. Maria, on the other hand, was racing to her room on the second floor. I followed Maria up the steps and into her room. The place was mostly empty, except for a desk, a bed, and a closet. Hanging above the desk was a mirror that Maria was gazing into.  
  
Maria brought her hand up to her face and felt her wrinkled skin.  
  
"Don't worry about it," I told her. "I'll get you back to the way you were in no time."  
  
"Shadow," she said.  
  
"What is it Maria?"  
  
"Thanks. Thanks for coming back for me."  
  
"Anytime, Maria."  
  
With that said, Maria pulled out a necklace from her desk drawer.  
  
"My mother gave me this necklace," she said.  
  
"Well, it should do. Let's go!" I said as I headed for the door.  
  
She quickly put it on and followed me out of her house. She seemed sad to see it in it's current state, but I assured her that we would fix up the place as soon as she was her younger self again.  
  
"Thanks again, Shadow," she said.  
  
"Like I said before, Maria. Anytime. Anytime."  
  
~~~~~KNUCKLES  
  
I gazed with shock at the scene in front of me. Pieces of robots were everywhere, and the whole place looked like a mess.  
  
"What happened here?" I asked myself.  
  
I headed towards the shrine of the Master Emerald and feared for the worst.  
  
Upon my arrival, I immediately noticed that the Emerald was nowhere around.  
  
"Mmm," I heard from my right.  
  
I looked and saw Tikal lying on the ground. I ran over to her.  
  
"Tikal! Are you alright!?" I asked. Hearing my voice, she looked up.  
  
"Knuckles! Eggman was here! He took the Master Emerald! I tried to stop him, but he had too many robots," she said quickly.  
  
"Are you hurt?" I asked.  
  
"No, I'm alright, just a little sore. I'll be fine in a couple of days," she said.  
  
"Alright, take care. I'm going to go help Sonic out and get back the Master Emerald," I told her.  
  
"Good luck, and be careful," Tikal said as she started getting up.  
  
I rushed from Angel Island and hurried towards Eggman's base.  
  
~~~~~SONIC  
  
"Are you ready?" I asked Rouge.  
  
"Ready as I'll ever be," she said as she pulled on her Treasure Scope.  
  
"Alright, you know the plan. I'll distract Eggman while you get the power crystal," I reminded.  
  
"I know, I know," she said impatiently.  
  
I rushed forward and ran right in between the guard robots at the entrance. They began to chase me. I rounded a corner and stopped. They ran around the corner and right past me. They kept on going.  
  
"Perfect," I whispered to myself as I headed towards the inner chamber.  
  
There I found Eggman, sitting in his chair with his back to me.  
  
"Eggman!" I yelled as I walked forward.  
  
"Sonic," Eggman said as he turned around.  
  
"I thought I'd come here and settle this," I stated.  
  
"Well then? What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Eggman said as he jumped into his Egg Walker that was sitting nearby.  
  
"I'm not falling for that one, Eggman," I replied. "You probably rigged this whole floor with capsule traps."  
  
"Very clever, Sonic. I had to see if the same trick would work thrice, if you know what I mean," Eggman said with a chuckle.  
  
Just as I was about to finish my conversation with Eggman, a robot came out of a corridor carrying Rouge. The robot dropped Rouge near Eggman and started to speak.  
  
"We caught this intruder in the Power Room. She was attempting to steal the power crystal," the robot said.  
  
"Great job. You are dismissed," Eggman said as the robot walked away. "Give up Sonic, and I will spare her life as well as yours. Refuse, and," Eggman put his gun to Rouge's face, "she will die."  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
Eggman turned around and saw Knuckles standing behind him. "Too slow!" he yelled as he threw an uppercut to Eggman's Walker, sending it backwards several feet. Much to his own dismay, the capsule trap enclosed him as it had once enclosed Sonic and his friends.  
  
"Nice try!" Eggman said as he shot through the capsule, shattering it into a million pieces. The shot missed Knuckles by inches and blew up Eggman's computer on his desk. "NOOO!" Eggman yelled as he stared at his wrecked computer.  
  
"Think fast!" I yelled as I smashed into the back of Eggman, sending him forward into the burning computer.  
  
"Heheheheheh," Eggman laughed. "MUWHAHAHAHA!"  
  
"I think Eggman's lost it," Knuckles said.  
  
"Completely," I said.  
  
Suddenly, the lights in the room went out, and when they came back on, Eggman was no longer there.  
  
"Hey! Where'd Egghead go?" I asked as I looked around.  
  
"Right here!" Eggman yelled from behind me.  
  
I turned around and was caught in the blast of a large beam that seemed to keep me from moving.  
  
"Argh! What.is.this.?" Knuckles struggled as he, too, was caught in the beam.  
  
I couldn't move an inch. As much as I struggled, Eggman's beam held me in place.  
  
"MUWHAHAHA! I knew my Stop Ray would get you!" he said.  
  
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Rouge running out the door. Maybe she could get some help. Because, god, we sure needed it right now. 


	8. Ah! So Shadow Isn't

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic or other characters mentioned in this story. They are copyright of other companies. Besides, I have no money that you could sue me for anyway.  
  
~~~~~ROUGE  
  
I ran as fast as I could go. I had to warn Tails and Shadow of this new weapon that Eggman had created.  
  
"Urgh! If only I could run faster!" I yelled as I continued on.  
  
~~~~~SHADOW  
  
"Do you think they are alright?" I asked Tails.  
  
"I'm not sure. They should've been back by now." He glanced at the clock. "All we can do is wait and hope for the best."  
  
Suddenly Rouge came in, completely out of breath.  
  
"Rouge! What happened?" Tails asked as she sat down.  
  
"Eggman has a new weapon," she managed to say.  
  
"Is Sonic OK?" I asked her.  
  
"He and Knuckles are trapped there," she said as she regained her breath. "Eggman used a machine called a Stop Ray. Once it hit Sonic and Knuckles, they couldn't break free of it," she said.  
  
"Why would Knuckles be at Eggman's base?" I asked nobody in particular.  
  
"Maybe something happened to the Master Emerald," Tails said.  
  
"Eggman! That creep! I bet he had this whole thing planned out from the beginning!" I said. "Tails, you said you got that notebook from Eggman? He probably left it behind on purpose!"  
  
"So, this whole thing was a trap. What are we going to do?" Rouge asked.  
  
"Well," Tails said, "I still think this Rejuvenator idea will work, if we can just get the items. Shadow, why don't you go to Eggman's base along with Rouge? Take these special comms. I made. They will allow me to see what happens. I'll watch your progress from here," Tails said as he pointed to a TV set in the corner.  
  
"Why do you get to stay here?" I asked him.  
  
"I still need to fix up some parts on the Rejuvenator. Besides, once I see what this Stop Ray looks like, I will try and make something to counteract it," Tails said.  
  
"So, what's the plan?" Rouge asked.  
  
"Same as before, Shadow will go in and distract Eggman while Rouge tries to find Sonic and Knuckles," Tails said. "No messing up this time, and try to avoid that ray of Eggman's," Tails said.  
  
I thought for a moment.  
  
"Is something wrong, Shadow?" Tails asked.  
  
"I'm not going."  
  
"WHAT!?" Tails and Rouge yelled.  
  
"Sonic couldn't do anything about the ray. Since I am nothing but his clone, how will the results be any different?" I asked.  
  
"Shadow, what are you talking about?" Maria asked. "You're not a clone!"  
  
I stared at her in disbelief. Her eyes shone.  
  
"What?" I asked.  
  
"You're not a clone! I should know, I was there when you were!" Maria shouted.  
  
"But the research record said."  
  
"I don't care what the record said! Anyone could've changed the record! All I know is, you're not a clone."  
  
She seemed to be telling the truth. But, how could that be? Nobody had any reason to change the record, except  
  
"Eggman. He knew this was going to happen. He must've somehow changed the record to say that I was created as a clone," I said.  
  
"Wait a second! You couldn't be a clone anyway! Sonic wasn't around fifty years ago!" Tails shouted.  
  
"That proves it!" Rouge agreed.  
  
"He probably doesn't want you to go to his base," Tails said. "But why I don't know."  
  
"If he thinks that I still believe I'm a clone, he won't be expecting me to show up at his base!" I said with excitement. "Now is the perfect time to go get Sonic."  
  
"Shadow, please be careful," Maria said. "Come back to me."  
  
"I will, Maria. I promise." Bottom of Form 0 


	9. Returning to Eggman's Base

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic or other characters mentioned in this story. They are copyright of other companies. Besides, I have no money that you could sue me for anyway.  
  
~~~~~ROUGE  
  
I snuck into the base right behind Shadow, being careful not to make a sound. Strangely enough, there didn't seem to be any robots guarding the passages like there had been when Sonic and I had been here. We stopped at the entrance to the inner chamber.  
  
"Are you ready?" he asked.  
  
I nodded.  
  
He rushed out from the corridor we were in and immediately blew up a computer nearby. While this distraction was taking place, I snuck along the wall to a side room nearby. I raced down the tunnel and wondered if Shadow was OK.  
  
~~~~~SHADOW  
  
"Hey Eggman! Quit hiding and fight me!" I yelled as I smashed another computer. Suddenly a voice sounded from ahead of me.  
  
"Shadow! I hadn't expected you to come here, but no matter, I will defeat you like I did to Knuckles and Sonic!" Eggman taunted as he came out into the light.  
  
"I know all about your Ray, Eggman, and I will try my hardest to defeat you!" I yelled as I ran towards him.  
  
"Fine! Then I will not use the Ray! I will beat you without it!" Eggman shouted as he fired a couple of rockets at me. I dodged them quickly and smashed his cockpit.  
  
"You! I will make you pay for this!" Eggman yelled as he fired a huge laser at me. I jumped over it and went around to the back of his machine and flip-kicked him, sending him flying across the room into a pillar.  
  
"Hah! Looks like I have this thing wrapped up!" I shouted as I watched smoke come out of Eggman's machine.  
  
"Don't get so cocky!" Eggman yelled as he fired a dark ray at me. I jumped to the side but the ray was too thick. I was still caught in the side of it and I found it impossible to move.  
  
"You good for nothing liar! You said you weren't going to use the Ray!" I shouted at Eggman.  
  
"And since when have you taken the word of a villain?" Eggman said as he kept the Ray on me.  
  
"You bastard!" I yelled as I struggled to break free.  
  
"It's no use, Shadow! Give up, like Knuckles and Sonic had to!"  
  
Inside my head I heard Maria's voice.  
  
"Shadow, please be careful. Come back to me."  
  
Then I heard my own voice. "I will Maria. I promise."  
  
"URGHHHHH!!!" I shouted as I summoned all my strength. "I will NOT break my promise to Maria!!"  
  
Red and yellow sparks started crackling all around me as I felt myself growing stronger and stronger.  
  
"What kind of person would leave his own cousin locked up in a prison for fifty years of her life!?" I shouted in rage as the sparks multiplied. "For you, Maria!!" I yelled as the sparks completely circled my body.  
  
Suddenly, the sparks shifted course, and started heading down the ray towards Eggman.  
  
"No! Oh, no! I was hoping it wouldn't come to this!!" Eggman shouted as he ejected out of his machine before the sparks reached him. But still, he was too late.  
  
KA-BANG!!!!! Eggman's machine exploded so viciously that it sent Eggman's eject pod out the roof.  
  
"I'll get you for this, Shadow!" he yelled as he flew farther and farther away.  
  
I was on the ground on all fours. What I had just done had taken almost all of my energy, and now I had barely enough to stay awake. And what little energy I had left was leaving me quickly.  
  
"Maria." I said faintly as I fell, unconscious.  
  
~~~~~ROUGE  
  
After about an hour of searching and destroying robots, I finally found the prison cell where Sonic and Knuckles were held. I unlocked the door and opened it. I looked in.  
  
"Rouge!" Knuckles yelled.  
  
"Get us outta here!" Sonic shouted.  
  
"You guys can't move yet!?" I said in shock.  
  
"Of course we can't! If we could, we would've been outta here a long time ago!" an irritated Sonic said.  
  
"Instead of sitting here pretending to be statues," Knuckles added.  
  
"But, I can't carry you guys out of here by myself! What am I going to do?" I asked.  
  
"Leave it all to me!" a voice said from behind me. I turned around and saw it was Tails in his Tornado 2!  
  
"You take that thing everywhere, don't you?" I asked Tails.  
  
"Just about," Tails said truthfully. "But I have to admit, it wasn't easy trying to get this thing through the front door."  
  
I suddenly noticed that he had Shadow in the back seat. "Shadow! Is he ok?" I asked Tails.  
  
"He will be fine. He is probably just worn out from his battle with Eggman," Tails said.  
  
"Enough chit-chat! Hurry up and get me out of this!" Sonic yelled as he struggled to move.  
  
"Stand back, Rouge," Tails said as he stepped forward. I walked back to the door.  
  
"This should do the trick," Tails said as he fired a green laser at Sonic and Knuckles.  
  
"Thanks Tails," Sonic said as soon as he was free. "Now let's get out of here before Eggman comes back!"  
  
"Not yet," Knuckles said as he raced out of the room.  
  
"Knuckles!" I yelled as I ran after him.  
  
"Rouge! Come back!" Tails yelled as I rounded the corner where Knuckles disappeared.  
  
~~~~~KNUCKLES  
  
I raced down corridor after corridor, looking left and right as I ran past room after room. The Master Emerald was somewhere in this huge base, but where was it?  
  
"Knuckles!" Rouge's voice sounded from behind me. I slowed down.  
  
"What was that all about?" she asked as soon as she caught up.  
  
"Eggman took the Master Emerald from Angel Island. I have to find it before he gets back," I said to her.  
  
"We still need to get the power crystal, too," Rouge reminded me.  
  
"What!? Are you telling me that you didn't get it yet!?" I replied.  
  
"Fine. I'll go for the power crystal, and you can go for the Master Emerald," Rouge said as she took a corridor to the left.  
  
I shrugged as I ran down the corridor on the right. I set my radar to the energy pattern of the Master Emerald and found out it was straight ahead. I put on an extra burst of speed as I flew down the corridor; my radar pulsing faster and faster the closer I got to the Emerald. I went into a room on my right when the radar was pulsing as fast as it could. Inside was the Master Emerald, surrounded by a shield of lasers.  
  
"Great. Now what do I do?" I said to myself as I looked at the emerald.  
  
~~~~~ROUGE  
  
I was getting close to the power crystal. My radar pulsed faster and faster, and I knew that it was just ahead. I entered the room that I had gotten captured in just earlier today, and there it was, sitting on its pedestal as it was when I saw it before. But this time I wasn't fooled. I pulled on my treasure scope, and saw what I hadn't the first time I came here; lasers were rigged all over the room so as to sound a silent alarm as soon as I was in the path of one of its beams.  
  
I stepped carefully around the first laser, ducked under the second, and crawled on the ceiling above the third. Finally I was past the lasers, and I snatched the power crystal from its pedestal. Suddenly, the whole room began to shake. The lights started flickering, and the lasers disappeared completely.  
  
~~~~~KNUCKLES  
  
"What the heck?" I said in surprise as the room began to shake and the lights flickered. The lasers surrounding the Master Emerald disappeared completely. I quickly snatched it and ran out of the room.  
  
Suddenly, a loud voice sounded from an intercom somewhere in the corridor.  
  
"BASE'S POWER SUPPLY HAS BEEN STOLEN. BASE WILL SELF-DESTRUCT IN ONE MINUTE."  
  
"Shit!" I yelled as I flew down the corridor, hoping that Rouge and the others were all right. But still, what would have caused the power to have been stolen? Except maybe.  
  
"Rouge!" I yelled as I ran down the corridor she had gone down. I set my radar to the power crystal and ran as the signal got stronger and stronger. I went in a room on my left and found her trapped underneath a large pipe, unconscious. I quickly shoved the pipe off of her and picked her up in my arms. In her hand she clutched the power crystal, which I took and shoved inside my pocket with the Master Emerald. I hastily ran out of the room and down the corridor towards the entrance.  
  
~~~~~SONIC  
  
"I hope they get out of there soon," Tails said as he watched the base.  
  
We were on top of a hill about a quarter of a mile away from the base, watching for any sign of Knuckles or Rouge.  
  
I checked my watch. There was only twenty seconds left until the base blew.  
  
"Come on, hurry up guys," I said.  
  
I finally saw Knuckles carrying Rouge out of the base. Only ten seconds remained.  
  
"They'll never make it here in time!" I shouted as I ran towards them. In my head I counted down the time.  
  
7  
  
6  
  
5  
  
4 and I was there, rushing around behind Knuckles and pushing him as fast as I could forwards.  
  
3  
  
2 and I was up to top speed  
  
1  
  
0 and we were over the hill as the base behind us exploded in a huge inferno that lit up the sky.  
  
"Thanks, Sonic. I owe you one," Knuckles said as he set Rouge down inside the Tornado 2.  
  
"No problem. Now, let's get back to Tail's house," I said as I hopped into the Tornado 2. Knuckles was right behind me.  
  
"Boy, am I glad I added more room in this machine," Tails said. "I had a feeling it might come in handy. Fasten your seat belts, because we are out of here!" He pushed a button on his controls and we traveled at the speed of light, once again. 


	10. Aftermath

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic or other characters mentioned in this story. They are copyright of other companies. Besides, I have no money that you could sue me for anyway.  
  
Knuckles laid out the power crystal and the Master Emerald on the table in Tails' workshop. Shadow and Rouge had regained consciousness thanks to one of Tails' machines. Maria laid down her necklace on the table as well, and Tails' picked them all up and put them in various places on his now completed Rejuvenator machine.  
  
"So, how is this thing supposed to work?" Sonic asked as he looked at Tails working.  
  
"It's rather simple, Sonic," Tails said. "The power crystal magnifies energy up to one hundred times its normal power. Eggman used it and solar energy to inexpensively power his base. The energy from the Master Emerald is directed into the power crystal, which magnifies it to be powerful enough to bring back years of life. Maria's necklace acts as a sort of anchor which holds her spirit here while her body undergoes the transformations," Tails finished.  
  
"Tails, you could get rich off of this machine!" Rouge said. "Everyone will want fifty years of their life back."  
  
"Actually, this machine will only work once. The insane amount of energy from the Master Emerald will cause the power crystal to shatter once it is used," Tails replied. "Which reminds me, Shadow, how did you get out of the Stop Ray? I watched what you did from here, and what you did should've been physically impossible. What were you thinking?" he asked.  
  
"All I thought about was Maria," Shadow said. "And the promise I made to Maria about coming back."  
  
"True love sure seems to have its powers," Sonic said.  
  
"I'll say," Tails said as he walked over to the machine.  
  
"Wait! Will the Master Emerald be in any danger?" Knuckles asked with concern.  
  
"No, your emerald will be quite safe," Tails said.  
  
"Well, shall we get started?" Maria asked. She was as anxious as any of us.  
  
"Sure thing, Maria. Go over there in that capsule and just relax. Shadow, can you come here for a second?" Tails asked.  
  
"What is it?" Shadow questioned as he walked forward.  
  
"I need you to put this on," he said as he put a wired helmet in Shadow's hands, "and think of what Maria looked like fifty years ago. Picture her in your mind. I'll take care of the rest," he said as he walked over to the controls.  
  
"Are you ready, Shadow, Maria?" Tails asked.  
  
"Ready as I'll ever be," Shadow replied.  
  
"Let's go for it," Maria said.  
  
Tails pushed a couple of buttons and pulled a couple of levers. The lights dimmed, and the inside of the capsule glowed as bright as a sun, forcing most of the group to look away, except for Knuckles, who put on his sunglasses. The Master Emerald spun rapidly, and the power crystal glowed a pale green in color. Shadow had his eyes closed and fists clenched, as if all he was doing was thinking about Maria. Suddenly, everything stopped. The Master Emerald stopped spinning, the power crystal shattered into a hundred pieces, the lights went back to normal, and the bright light in the interior of the capsule slowly dissipated. Inside was a strikingly beautiful girl, who was looking at her own hands. Looking at where the wrinkles used to be. Looking at a body she thought she had long lost.  
  
"Maria!" Shadow yelled as he took off his helmet and went to release her from her capsule.  
  
"Shadow!" she shouted as she came out.  
  
"You're back!" Shadow said as he looked at her.  
  
"Have a look for yourself!" Tails said as he handed Maria a mirror.  
  
"Oh, wow!" she said as she looked into the mirror. "How can I thank all of you enough?"  
  
"It was nothing," Sonic said. "We're glad you're back."  
  
"Looks like everything is back to normal, at least for awhile," Rouge stated.  
  
"Except for one thing," Knuckles said. "If you aren't a clone of Sonic, and you're not the ultimate life form, then what ARE you?" he asked Shadow.  
  
"I don't think what I am matters much anymore. I think WHO I am is good enough from now on," Shadow said as he looked at Maria.  
  
"Oh, Shadow," she said as they embraced.  
  
Everyone smiled. They had been successful.  
  
THE END  
  
Hope you liked my story, and please review it if you are feeling up to it. Please look for other stories I may write in the future. Thanks for reading!  
  
THE END of my first fanfic. 


End file.
